Nigerian celebrity chef and Guinness World Record holder, Hilda Baci, has unveiled plans to cook what she calls the world’s largest pot of jollof rice, using an estimated 250 bags of rice for the massive culinary project.
Baci, who rose to global fame in 2023 after her record-breaking cooking marathon, shared details of the ambitious plan in a video posted on Instagram on Monday.
The chef disclosed that a specially constructed pot, designed for the event, holds a capacity of 22,619 litres, and her target is to fill it to about 75 to 80 percent of its volume.
“My goal is to fill this pot up by at least 75 to 80 per cent,” she explained.
“That means I will need about 5,278 kilogrammes of raw basmati rice to achieve the yield.”
Although calculations indicate that the task would require around 264 bags of rice, Baci said she had settled on a slightly reduced number for logistical reasons. “I am making the executive decision to do 250 bags,” she added.
She also highlighted the enormous quantity of ingredients required, particularly tomato paste, which is essential to the dish. “For one kilogram of rice, you would need between 0.20 to 0.35, but because it’s Nigerian jollof, I’m going to use 0.30. That means I will need 1,583 kilogrammes of Gino tomato paste,” she noted.
To ensure a rich and authentic flavour, Baci said the tomato base would be carefully balanced across three components: tomato paste, pepper chicken paste, and jollof paste—aiming to create what she described as the “most delicious, largest pot of Nigerian jollof rice you have ever tasted.”
